From 2 to 6 October Tomsk State University will host the first stage of international competitions WorldSkills. The competitive selection of the famous world championship takes place in Tomsk for the first time, 70 students improve their skills in seven areas.

WorldSkills is an international movement aimed at increasing the prestige of working professions and developing vocational education. The Association organizes competitions of professional skills in individual countries and throughout the world as a whole. The competition is attended by specialists in industry and services, who compete in professional competence, performing the proposed tasks.

The competition at TSU will be held in seven competencies: web development, IT solutions for business on the platform 1C: Enterprise 8, mobile robotics, entrepreneurship, laboratory and chemical analysis (Poc), graphic design, and tourism.

- Education is a necessary, but insufficient condition for a successful movement in life. Because only skills and competencies give birth to experience: if a person is experienced, he or she will be in demand by the society and employers, - says Konstantin Belyakov, Vice-Rector TSU for Innovation. - It is very important that WorldSkills was supported by higher education institutions. TSU has so far become, unfortunately, the only site in the region, but I am sure that other universities will join the movement.

70 students will take part in the first, regional stage of the competition. During the competitive days they will perform a number of tasks, the result will be evaluated by a team of experts.

- Our task is to form students' ability to create new products, new inventions,and innovative proposals. WorldSkills is a skill to create and implement, to make the world a better place, notes Konstantin Belyakov.

Winners of the regional stages of the contest will compete in the national finals "Young Professionals" (WorldSkills Russia). From the participants of the All-Russian competition an expanded national team will be formed to participate in the World Championship WorldSkills Competition. The World Championship is held every two years in different cities of the world, in 2017 it will be held in Abu Dhabi (UAE) and in 2019 it will be held in Kazan (Russia).